I
offer my thoughts on Tony Gonzalez’s science fiction novel from Gollancz Books,
The Tabit Genesis, a space opera book
that’s currently available to buy now.
They left Sol in two
great ships, carrying with them the last hope for humankind. Destined for
different stars, their mission was to ensure the survival of our species. One
ship was never heard from again. Decades later, the other arrived at a lifeless
world, where the survivors learned that Earth was lost not to famine, but to an
alien species determined to eradicate humans from existence.
Man is not alone in the universe, and the last of us are hunted. Driven by strong characters facing tremendous odds, Tony Gonzales delivers SF in the grandest tradition: an epic adventure full of colossal ships, vast battles and unimaginable challenges.
The Tabit Genesis was one of the Gollancz titles that was available as an
ebook for £1.99 as a pre-order so I took a chance on it and snapped it up at a
fairly cheap price and when it was released I’m really glad that I gave it a
shot, because Tony Gonzalez’s space opera novel was a really solid read,
offering a welcome surprise from the author’s first non tie-in book, with
Gonzalez having a couple of EVE novels available to buy now. This book though, I had lots of fun with it,
with echoes of James SA Corey’s Expanse series (soon to be adapted for a SyFy
show) and what Battlestar Galactica might
have looked like with aliens involved. There’s lots of good stuff going on here
set against an intruging backdrop and a fascinating universe to explore.
Two
great ships departed the solar system in the future in search of a new home.
One of these ships was called the Tabit Genesis, hence the novel’s title, but
also, Tau Ceti, the other. Whilst Tau Ceti was never heard of again, the other,
decades later, arrived at a bleak world only to learn that Earth was destroyed
not, as they previously thought, by famine, but by aliens, species that are
determined to wipe out humanity from existence. Is there any hope for mankind
in a universe when they are now the hunted? Just because they may have spread
out through the universe again, does not mean that the aliens have not gone
away quietly, and they still happen to be out there in the darkness.
The
book itself is a riveting read, full of multiple characters that work together
well and we follow their journeys through multiple POVs, with unique enough
voices to make them feel like distinctively different characters. Whilst it’s a
struggle to get a hold on who everybody is at first as there’s quite a lot of
cast members introduced, Gonzalez handles their development mostly well even if
we do not perhaps spend enough time with them as I would have liked. Take Jake
and Adam for example, the former an undercover agent who has experienced past
traumas when he was younger, and the latter a miner on the planet Zeus. They’re
interesting enough characters and there’s enough development there to make them
different from the others, but I would have liked a bit more focus on them to
flesh out their stories a bit more. It’s just a minor compliant but it almost
feels like Gonzalez is trying to do too much, too quickly in places.
Another
issue that I had with The Tabit Genesis s
that it relies on exposition a fair amount, which can decrease the flow of the
book a bit. But despite that, it mostly remains a fairly solid read, with some
good development of the world and the story is a solid one as well, making good
use of flashbacks to explore the novel’s antagonists well. The key highlight of
the book is the carefully planned and well executed worldbuilding, which keeps
the novel interesting with the fresh setting of The Tabit Genesis being a very interesting one indeed. This is one
that space opera fans will certainly enjoy, and it turns out to be one of the more
interesting science fiction reads of the year.
VERDICT: 8.5/10
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